Morngard Larlake
Morngard Delbrar Larlake is a tall, slender, lithe, and quiet-spoken man. He tries to "drift" about and does as little as possible to draw attention to himself. He is very good at always observing his surroundings without seeming to do so, and he is talented at mimicking the walk and mannerisms of those in an area (allowing him to stroll along a guarded passage, for example, in the same way a guard just did). Larlake's hair is light brown and thinning, his features fine, his expression usually faintly smiling, and his eyes are very blue. He customarily dresses in thigh-high soft leather boots with soft leather breeches and open-front, puff-sleeved shirts in solid colors (tan, brown, royal blue, dark green, or black), sometimes with an off-the-shoulder half-cloak. He's seldom without sheathed daggers at belt, down both boots, inside his right sleeve, and at the back of his neck (its sheath also supports an ornamented gorget). He wears silver-shod sword scabbards at his hips that contain daggers at their tops (as "sword hilts"), and sheaths for two wands each, spaced lower down along their length (the fourth wand is a dummy that Larlake sometimes uses as a spell focus). When going "to war," Larlake will add a rope belt (a large black cummerbund that conceals 100 feet of black silk climbing cord, knotted at 2-foot intervals, that wraps around his waist) and an armor-sheathed scroll case that has a tinder box built into one end, and a storage compartment built into the other. Empty carrysacks and a pair of bracers are customarily strapped to the outside of this, with a cloak wrapped around it all to make the scroll case look like a bedroll. Larlake is a superb actor, and he has no personal dignity or pride; he'll doff clothing, dress in drag, or undergo humiliations without hesitation. Naturally deft and quiet, he prefers not to fight or swagger, and he conceals his class and familiarity with magic in his daily affairs. Larlake's thirst in life is for knowledge -- about magic and through learning things about beings, power groups, and events he considers important (that is, likely to be influential in future). He's a natural spy, though seldom the sort that performs risky invasions and searches of private rooms. Larlake prefers to notice things and eavesdrop, fix faces, voices, and facts in his memory, and then piece together what he knows and devise ways of learning key answers to "fill the gaps" in his knowledge. To cap it all, he never forgets anything. Although Taern, Laeral, and Alustriel's sons have satisfied themselves as to Larlake's lack of menace, they and the Harpers remain interested in his influence on the High Lady. Larlake took on his role of her hidden protector by himself, and it seems to be one she tolerates with affectionate amusement more than anything else, but he has also willingly become something of a spy on the diplomats of, and influential local groups within, the other cities of the Silver Marches. The Soft Sword reports to her continuously on what he can learn of their personal thoughts and aims, so she can better judge what they're after in League deliberations. The Harpers and Alustriel's own trusted heralds do the same thing, of course, and they're intensely interested in what "slant" Larlake may be putting on what he tells his love (and so are trying to learn what he feels). He says nothing to them, but doesn't complain or try to thwart their mind-reading spells, which have yielded this much: Larlake isn't trying to sway Alustriel in any direction, other than to equip her with all the truthful information he can about her fellow city rulers and their most important citizens. He's come to believe (and has told Alustriel as much) that King Harbromm wants to be emperor of a northern empire sooner rather than later and will shatter the League to get onto the Silver Throne without hesitation. Larlake believes this will be a disaster, because Harbromm itches to plunge into fatal orc-scouring wars whilst ignoring the needs of the "weakling" protectorates. As the King of Citadel Adbar sees the future, once every last fell monster has been exterminated, really good roads can be built, the wild Dessarin uplands settled, and all the gem and mineral wealth flowing out of Mithral Hall and Mirabar will have to come through his new kingdom (if he leaves Luskan alone to stand as "the enemy" so law-abiding folk will avoid using them as a port, and if he neglects Neverwinter so that trade will flow up and down the Dessarin and Delimbiyr valleys). Larlake thinks that Lord Helm and King Warcrown can be led by Harbromm into building an armed host for the Marches that will prove to be its doom when they inevitably split with Harbromm over his grandiose plans (that King Battlehammer, High Mage Taern, and High Marshal Aerasum will, of course, also oppose). In Larlake's eyes, the First Elder of Everlund is a dangerous fool -- dangerous in that he's already Harbromm's tool, goaded into picking quarrels with Harbromm's opposition on Council whenever the King of Citadel Adbar wants him to do so -- and an utter incompetent. The Soft Sword thinks that if death befell either Harbromm or First Elder Moorwalker tomorrow, the Marches would be safer and stronger in an instant (no matter what confusion followed). So far as Larlake can tell, Alustriel knew all this quite well before his arrival in Silverymoon, and welcomes him as someone of similar views with whom she can commiserate. She values him more as a friend and a lover, for she needs intimacy -- not just sensual pleasure, but backrubs and moments of silent sharing, as well as someone to laugh with when she lets her guard down and clowns (she can do devastating parodies of many Silvaeren, and all of her fellow Council members). He enjoys easy friendships with most of Alustriel's sons (who are all, of course, results of Alustriel's loving nature) because they know and understand her needs but can't, as kin, fulfill all of them -- and because Larlake has never shown them a trace of considering himself "above" them, or even worthy of being their mother's consort. Larlake doesn't seem to have any personal pride, and very rarely shows any anger beyond cynical comments about those he dislikes or behavior he regards as selfish, foolish, or damaging. His own interests seem to include trying to learn who's trying to thwart or position themselves for future supremacy in the realm Alustriel's trying to forge, observing who's up to what in the Marches, and (besides openly warning Harpers, Alustriel, Taern, and Alustriel's sons about events and intrigues) subtly manipulating divers persons to support Alustriel's rule and act against those who don't. His chief tools in such swaying are the subtly dropped comment, the fostered rumor, and the occasional simple illusion spell that shows a skeptic something to shatter her views. He was "an old friend" of Alustriel from years ago, Larlake by name, who'd come to her side to consult her about something and stayed by mutual agreement. He came from Tethyr, where he'd acquired the nickname "the Soft Sword." There, he'd been an investigator of crimes, and the "Sword" referred to his sharp wits, not a weapon. He was not a spy for anyone, and he poses no threat to the Gem of the North or the Silver Marches. The Harpers took careful notes of those in Silverymoon and the wider Marches who were showing a continuing interest in finding out more about Larlake, and they discovered two things: that he personally fascinated many women who were interested in anyone who held Alustriel's interest so deeply, and that many sinister power groups (the Arcane Brotherhood and certain Red Wizards of Thay in particular, but also representatives of some city rulers in the League) wanted to speak to -- and presumably try to subvert or influence -- Alustriel's latest consort. Two persons (Taern Hornblade and Alustriel's sister Laeral) and two groups (Alustriel's sons and the Harpers themselves) worked to protect Larlake from attacks by the dark organizations seeking to reach him, and at the same time to launch their own thorough investigations of the High Lady's mysterious lover. Smilingly, Larlake watched them all right back, revealing little. His skin seems a shade too dusky in hue for Tethyrian bloodlines (though he might well have been born there) and his early history seems almost absent from all record -- though of course persons not born to prominence or importance, and who don't seek it, often escape all notice (particularly in lands torn by strife, as Tethyr has been). What Larlake's investigators have made certain of is that whatever probing magic they use, they can find no hostility toward Alustriel in him, or any dark shadow in his mind of coming betrayal of her or her work (Silverymoon and the Marches). The Soft Sword said little to help such inquisitors, but willingly cooperated with their spellcasting. Most of them now know little more about the man than these points: Larlake investigated a variety of thefts, murders, and disputes in several Tethyrian cities, at first for free and, once his reputation was established, for a flat 2 gp daily fee; he's always alert and watchful, curious about certain persons and events to the point of spying; lives simply but has sufficient coin; Larlake dislikes wearing robes and adopting the "grandly wise, mysterious" manner many wizards favor. He prefers to stroll through life like a ranger or well-traveled minstrel, going his own way (as the Marches saying has it: "following his own stars") but acting the pleasant-natured, quiet gallant. Among robed and mantled mages, he might seem a senior apprentice or a fan of wizards. Power skillfully and selflessly used fascinates Larlake. It's likely he'd have been attracted to Alustriel had he truly known nothing about her -- rather than journeying to win her love again. With his veiled intelligence, kindness, and playfulness to the young (Alustriel noticed him in a corner at a revel, crafting little dancing illusions to tell a tale of love and loyalty to a wide-eyed child who'd awakened and come down to see what all the noise and laughter was about), Larlake was an instant hit with the High Lady. Alustriel makes friends easily, and like many who become her deep and trusted friends (she's learned she must probe, rather than place trust without doing so), he ended up in her bed. Unlike many, he's returned there often, and lingered in her company because they both desire to remain close. Were she not a Chosen, her mind afire with Mystra's power and armored with her obligations to the goddess, Alustriel would fully bare her thoughts to her lovers (if she thought their minds could survive the searing caused when minds of great power mesh deeply with lesser intellects). As it is, she dare not ever entangle herself so fully. To do so might also kill any affection or fascination between herself and a lover. So Larlake's inner truths remain hidden from her, as they do from the most curious and watchful of her sons and local Harpers. None have yet learned that Larlake was crafted to be a bridle to guide Alustriel, but who has rebelled against his creator. Morngard Delbrar Larlake was born of Tethyrian forester lineage, and he was a quiet, shy man who blundered into the clutches of an ambitious Red Wizard